The Unstoppable Rise of Jalisco Nueva Generación As North America’s Largest Drug Cartel

FARC has reportedly assisted the cartel with a supply of cocaine and meth (Twitter).

EspañolMexico’s Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) has been one of the most prolific and dangerous drug trafficking organizations in Mexico since its creation approximatley 10 years ago, if not in all of North America and beyond, some experts claim.

What began as a small group made up of deserters from the now-defunct Milenio Cartel has evolved into a massive criminal system whose business reportedly extends through the continent and into Europe and Asia.

Its quick foray into the drug trafficking industry is in part a result of strategic headquarters along the border with the United States, including in Tijuana, as well as in Vancouver, Canada.

Alliances with other violent criminal groups has historically helped them to replace competitors along the Pacific coast.

According to information released by the United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration, the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel distributes cocaine and meth along over 6,200 miles of coast from Canada down to the souther cone.

It wasn’t until 2014, when the cartel started extending its operations into Asia, that the cartel became the biggest and most important drug organization in México, not taking into account that within its own country it operates in 14 states.

Global Expansion

Tijuana is the cartel’s most important base, as it borders one of the most important markets: California.

Its growth wasn’t spontaneous, but rather the result of an agreement with the criminal organization known as Arellano Félix, which provided them with resources to grow rapidly over recent years.

The CJNG operates a drug route that begins in Ecuador and extends through the northeast of the United States and Canada, which is equivalent to the distance between the North and South Poles.

However, to be able to understand the cartel’s expansion, it’s first important to analyze its growth within Mexico and where it has been able to operate according to the DEA’s report.

The ringleaders of the expansion are Abigael González Valencia, who was previously the leader of the Los Cuinis Cartel, and her brother-in-law Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, better known as “El Mencho,” who is the current leader of CJNG.

Both also led cells of the Milenio Cartel, which was dedicated specifically to cocaine and meth. However, in 2010, they separated from the organization and decided to form their own cartel provided they had the funds to do so, the DEA’s report said.

In the agency’s most recent report, the DEA said the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) supplied the cocaine and Jalisco Nueva Generación was responsible for its transportation to 10 key cities in the United States, including San Diego, Los Angeles and Seattle.

Since 2007, the DEA has dedicated itself to closely following the activities of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes and Abigael González, the latter of which has been in prison since being captured in 2015.

The DEA has reportedly discovered that the cartel “has developed criminal alliances with criminal organizations around the world, including the United States, Latin America, Africa and Asia.”

Operations in Europe and Asia

The Center for Strategic Studies and Defense at the National University of Australia showed that the cartel has been able to expand into Australia and Southeast Asia.

In its study, titled “Mexican Cartels for Drugs and Dark Networks,” researchers warned that Jalisco has ways into Australia thanks to connections with criminal organizations in China.

“These connections are related to the importation (by Mexican cartels and Chinese criminal organizations) of precursors to the production of methamphetamines. The finished product is subsequently trafficked from Mexico, principally to the state of Jalisco, and back to China.

According to Australia’s Director of the Criminal Intelligence Commission Chris Dawson, though CJNG still doesn’t dominate the market in Australia, it has increased its presence in the business of methamphetamines and cocaine that are distributed locally.

The typical price for a kilogram of cocaine in Colombia is US $1,950, while from Mexico it is US $10,000 per kilogram. If that same cocaine enters the United States, its value could reach as high as US $41,000, and US $200,000 in Australia.